Top Food Myths

July 18, 2010

In today’s mad race of trying to make healthy food choices, we sometimes end up making wrong food selection instead; mostly due to partial awareness. In this post I will try to break few common myths related to food and health.

1. Myth: Fat free is calorie free.

Fact: In order to lose weight faster, people often binge on fat free foods. They do not realise that the so-called fat free foods like no fat cookies, cakes and crackers are not exactly calorie free. Most of the fat free foods in fact contain as many calories as their regular versions. Next time when you pick food at your supermarket, do read on the calories as well.

2. Myth: Extra protein makes you strong.

Fact: There is no food, which can alone give you energy and strength. Our body needs all kinds of nutrients to go on healthy. In addition, one does not need to starve to lose weight. We even need the much-detested carbohydrates for energy. In fact high protein diet often lacks nutrients found in carbohydrate rich diet. Remember that balancing is the key.

3. Myth: Potatoes and bread make you fat.

Fact: Good news for all the potato and bread lovers. Both are not really the reason of your bulging belly. They are healthy carbohydrates with around 100 calories and are low in fat. Yes, I just said low in fat! It is actually, what you compliment these things with that matters and that can be fattening like butter, cream, mayonnaise, cheese etc.

4. Myth: Raw food is better than processed one.

Fact: That might not always be true because certain vegetables like eggplants and beans contain certain toxins that can only be removed by heating. Also, most of the products are difficult to be digested raw. A healthy diet should be a balance of raw and processed food depending on their nature. (A product remains raw up to certain degrees of temperature, which mostly is up to 40 degree Celsius.)

5. Myth: Fresh fruit is better than dried fruit

Fact: Dry fruits are as good as fresh fruits and contain as many nutrients. The only nutrient they miss on is vitamin C. You can substitute one tablespoon of dry fruits for one serving of fruits. A healthy diet means five tablespoons of dry fruits per day, which is equivalent to five fruits.

6. Myth: Six small meals are healthier than three large meals.

Fact: This is good only if your six meals are small and not like six large meals. It is all about the total calorie intake per day, so it does not really matter how many portions you intake. In general, people find the three-meal system more convenient as that is time efficient and it is perfectly fine. You should just know what works right for you.

7. Myth: Craving means that your body requires certain nutrients.

Fact: I know, that is the excuse we all give ourselves for digging our teeth in doughnuts, pastries, sweets and shakes. But sigh, craving is nothing but our taste buds getting tempted for something. There have been tests, which have proved this myth. For instance, a person craving for chocolate will only be satisfied with chocolate, no matter how much of anything else with exactly same nutrient count he consumes. Therefore, cravings are all about emotions, flavours and memories related to certain foods.

8: Myth: It’s fine to substitute fresh fruits with juice.

Fact: Now, that’s a myth. You cannot gulp down the same amount of nutrition that you can intake by chewing a fresh fruit. Juices do not contain the essential fibre, which is present in the pulp of the fruit. So, next time you have to choose between the juice and the fruit, you know what it should be.

Like this:

Related

Notes of Chic is Shagun Tomar`s intimate fashion and lifestyle diary that talks about her everyday fashion and travel experiences. Besides being an ethical vegetarian, she lives on good coffee and cakes. Coming from a journalism background, it was only natural for blogging to become a means of expression for her. Stay glued to hear more!